#with the release of swsh. and this thing was the starter i chose at that time

[front-facing-pokemon]

[eunkimmie]

with a smile

Pokémon SwSh Hop x Reader

Hop was always a confident boy, a notable figure in Postwick for his outgoing personality and contagious smile. Leon was something of a hometown legend of course, being the champion and all, and essentially the entire family were the darlings of the little village that lay on the outskirts of Wedgehurst. (Name) was Hop’s best friend, the two being inseparable for as long as they could remember. Both of them were utterly fascinated with Pokémon, but Hop’s fascination was a bit louder than (Name's). (Name) had some Pokémon that roamed around the house. A few Budew and Sewaddle in the garden, and a Munchlax inside that belonged to her mother. Wooloo naturally roamed the village, but one in particular with heterochromatic eyes liked to stay close to her house. Hop owned his own Wooloo, the sheep Pokémon following him around everywhere and ‘baa-ing’ happily as it trotted alongside him. 

When Leon made a return home and brought gifts with them, the two could hardly contain their excitement. Leon released three Pokémon out in the yard, and (Name) knew that their journey was finally starting. As (Name) and their starter progressed in the gym challenges, beating Kabu and off to Stow-on-Side to face the fourth leader in the lineup. After a quick trip to the vault and formally meeting Raihan, who was admittedly a giant in comparison to (Name), they were finally on their way to route six. Immediately after stepping off of the dark brick bridge of Hammerlocke, Team Yell guarded the pathway with the excuse of helping a Silicobra sleep. 

After a quick battle (Team Yell’s Pokémon were all the same, and therefore predicable) with Hop cheering (Name) on from the side, the two friends stood there in silence. (Name) cleared their throat, smiling softly. “I think it’s sweet that they’re supporting Marine like that.”

“Am I a weak trainer?” Hop’s sudden question almost shocked (Name) into stumbling backwards. Weak? How could Hop think he was weak? “What? Of course not. Why would you think that?”

“Well...Bede kind of wiped the floor with me,” Hop chuckled dryly, his smile lacking any emotion. Now that (Name) recalled, Bede had made a smug point to stop (Name) on their way and gloat about the win. The thought made them clench their fists—Bede needed to learn how his words impacted others. “And he mentioned that I put Lee to shame, having such a rubbish little brother like me in relation to him. You think that’s true? I mean, I know as a trainer I’ll have my fair share of losses, but...” Hop laughed again, though it was full of sorrow. (Name's) heart clenched. Seeing the boy, usually full of smiles and confidence, so low was just...heartbreaking.

“Hop...” (Name) mumbled, moving to rub his arm sympathetically. “You know you're a good trainer. Bede was just trying to say anything he could to bring your spirits down.”

“Thanks, mate, but I’m not so sure. I haven't won a battle against you once.” (Name) bit their lip...That was true. Though, at the same time, Hop wouldn't forgive (Name) if he knew they threw the battle. It didn't help that he chose the starter that was weak to theirs, either.

“But—” (Name) started, getting cut off by the other. 

“Sorry for pulling you into my pity party, (Name). I don't mean to drag you down, too.” (Name) swore they felt tears well up in the corner of their eyes. Hop wasn't like this. This wasn't him. Hop was happy, cheerful, and kind. It absolutely killed (Name) to see him so down in the dumps.

(Name) grasped Hop’s wrist, pulling him forward and pressing their lips to his. His dejected expression made (Name) so blue, and the thought of Hop feeling less than stellar was unacceptable. 

(Name) pulled away, cheeks red. When Hop finally opened his amber eyes, they were sparkling. For once, he was speechless as he sputtered to come up with a response. 

“You don't drag me down, and you definitely do not drag Leon down. You're an amazing trainer, Hop, and I know you're going to do amazing things,” (Name) whispered, placing a hand on top of his head and patting it affectionately. Smiling lightly, they pulled him into a hug. Hop let out a small gasp, barely audible, before (Name) felt his hands clench tightly onto the back of their jacket. The gym challenge was so fast paced, but sometimes they just needed to take matters slow. “Please continue to do your best...With a smile.”

“...Thank you,” Hop muttered, burying his head into the crook of their neck. (Name) felt him smile, and the action made them smile as well.

“Anytime, mate.”

[pahrak-the-sinnoh-slizer]

Alright, more complete thoughts on the Pokémon Direct:

-tbh I’m not into Mystery Dungeon, I know I played Explorers of Time in the past but all I really remember is being vaguely annoyed they made me a Munchlax and getting repeatedly slaughtered by Primal Dialga.  Since there’s a free demo I suppose I’ll give that a shot.  Honestly, not a big fan of the sketchy art style, or how it kinda clashes with the Pokémon models, but eh maybe I’m just being contrary.  Really surprised to hear it’ll be out in March, though.

-Speaking of surprisingly soon releases I’m gonna jump ahead to Pokémon Home.  February, huh?  And they’re still not going to give us any real details about it?  That, ah…that’s peculiar.  I find it quite odd.  Hm.

-But on to the main event, the SwSh Expansion Pass!  I actually kinda like that this is the direction they chose to go in rather than releasing another (pair of) game(s), due in no small part to only costing half as much. (I guess if you buy both games and both expansions it’ll add up to three games’ worth, though?) Only time will tell, but part of me feels this might actually be the best way to conduct a new generation and hopes it becomes the norm.  I mean yeah, another part of me’s thinking they saved the post-game for DLC and it would’ve been nice if they’d put it in the game before releasing it, but…eh, it is what it is, and again it looks more appealing that what they’ve done previously.

-And 200 more Pokémon are being added back in!  Thank God. That still leaves about 300, but maybe we’ll get another expansion in 2021 that’ll add those?  I’m a lot more optimistic about it now.

-I like the sounds of “Isle of Armor” and “Crown Tundra”, and they go well with the theming of Sword and Shield.  Also rather like that they’ll be spaced out pretty evenly, it’ll help to extend the game’s life cycle at a steady pace and give us something to look forward to for a long time while also getting something substantial half way.  I kinda like the designs of Kubfu and Urshifu, and the different style thing is interesting—are those going to be version exclusives, or do you choose which one you get?  Not a fan of Calyrex though: neat name, awkward design.

-It’s so, so fucking good to hear that both of these new places work like the Wild Area.  Let loose the camera’s shackles.  It’s time.

-Excited for new customization options!  I’m pretty happy with how Liam looks now but it’s fun to have more to mess around with. Can’t pick out much but I notice Marnie hair/outfit (ugh), same for Rose (eh?), Leon’s hat (want), a Ghetsis-style monocle (want), a uniform covered in sponsorship logos (want), and on the bicycle side, a motorcycle helmet (WANT).  Seriously hoping somewhere in here they give you the option to customize what uniform you wear in stadiums, because I still don’t understand why that’s not already a thing.

-New characters: honestly? Not in love with anyone’s design here. Don’t find any bad (I’d call Avery’s design unappealing, but not bad), just…none of them immediately grab me the way Bea’s did.  Maybe that’s a high bar.  Anyway, neat that you’ll have new version exclusive rivals, and making Klara a Poison specialist is neat.  As for Avery being Psychic, it feels redundant with Bede—sure he ended up being the Fairy Gym Leader, but he started out as a Psychic specialist and still kinda half is, so…eh.  “Mustard” is a less-than-inspiring name, but meeting a former Champion (and someone who has history with Leon) sounds really cool.  Also neat that you can journey out to train under an old hermit, though Liam is already a student of Bea so I’m conflicted there.

-And Gigantamax.  I’m trying not to be as down on it.  Venusaur and Blastoise are okay I guess, and it’s only fair after giving one to Charizard.  Rather nice to see the new starters being given special forms…assuming the ones you actually start with are Gigantamax capable. (It’ll raise some questions, but it feels like the better option than needing to get new ones imo.) I’m not really sure how I feel about Gigantamax Rillaboom or Cinderace?  But I’m not a fan of Inteleon—I get the sniper direction, but still…not my aesthetic.  As for Gigantamax Urshifu, I feel like we’re not getting a very good look at either version, but what we’re seeing isn’t enough to win me over.

-The birds…sure look like Galarian forms of Articuno, Zapdos, and Moltres, but the Direct was saying something about new Pokémon when they were shown, so part of me’s a little unsure?  That does seem the most likely option though, or at the very least they’re heavily inspired by those Pokémon.  Gen I favoritism bears mentioning.  That aside, I think these are our first regional variant legendaries, so that’s neat.  I think I quite like Articuno!  However, I have to say I’m not impressed with the other two.  We’ll see if they grow on me.

-Very interesting that we seem to be getting new Regis!  They appear to be Electric and Dragon…part of me wonders how well those work for golems, but then again I’m no expert.  Not entirely sure how I feel about the designs?  Also wondering if these are going to be version exclusives—nothing was said, but when you show off exactly two special new Pokémon in relation to one new location…

-Move Tutors with new moves? Neat.  EXP Charm?  Cool!  Motherfucking APRICORNS?!  About damn time they brought those back!!

-Being able to fully explore Pokémon Dens sounds like a really neat idea, I’m interested in seeing how it’s done.  Just hope the Dynamax Pokémon found inside are tweaked a little…I want to explore, but without assistance (and those AIs don’t count) I’m not really able to take down HP sponges that create 50 shields and hit like a truck twice per turn.  Also kinda nice to see the legendaries being brought back: I actually like that the past few Gens have, in their latter half, made virtually all legendaries available for new players who might not’ve caught them before.  And…exploring underground?  Hmmm, that sounds familiar…

-I saved Galarian Slowpoke for last since you can catch one now thanks to the update.  For starters: really cool that the announcement was coupled with a little “preview” of sorts in the game itself!  As for Galarian Slowpoke itself, it doesn’t look super different, and as far as I can tell the only changes are that it’s pure Psychic rather than part Water and has another possible ability.  On its own this is underwhelming, but since this is Slowpoke, part of me wonders if this is a joke about it being so lazy/slow-moving that it only got part-way through a form change before giving up or something. Sadly there’s no Pokedex entry yet to confirm this, but I’m hopeful.  Quite fitting that Galarian Slowking will be in the Crown Tundra, though that makes me wonder…will Galarian Slowbro have some kind of armor?  Also hoping those items are normal evolutionary items and we won’t have to trade, because I can’t do that.  Barring the obligatory nitpick of Gen I favoritism, I’m looking forward to seeing where this goes.

-Oh, also I already pre-ordered the Sword expansion so I got the special outfits, but they’re just Pikachu and Eevee-themed sport uniforms—if you’re a fan of either you’ll probably get a kick out of them, but if not, don’t feel any pressure to pre-order.